Abstract: The Vegetation Database Nardus Swards of Germany (GIVD ID EU-DE-012) comprises vegetation relevés of Nardus swards made within the scope of a dissertation on western German Nardetalia communities. While the aim of the dissertation was mainly to describe floristic patterns of Nardetalia communities and their relations to environmental conditions, the data have also been successfully used to calculate habitat models for 140 species. The geographic range covers the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany before 1990. The database includes only relevés made by the author. Ecological data (topography, soil properties, management) are available for most of the relevés. Published and unpublished releveés from other authors (ca. 2,500) exist in text format but are not yet included in the database.